Nodes

The nodes menu has two sub-menus in the navigation on the left and two tabs in the default view.

The node tree tab is the default view of the Management System. It displays all registered nodes in a node tree. It mainly serves an organizational purpose and does not impact the functionality of the nodes. Nodes and workloads can be managed in the node details view, which is reached through the node tree.

Selecting the node list tab displays a list of all available nodes that have been registered in the Management System. Add, remove, and edit nodes here.

Available updates for nodes can be found in the Updates sub-menu. Performed node updates can be viewed in the Update Log. When an update is performed, the update log also shows the current progress of the update.

Node tree

The node tree is the landing page of the Management System. It presents an overview of all nodes that are connected to the Management System, embedded into tree view elements. Being mainly a means of organization, it has no impact on the functionality of the nodes and their workloads. Select Nodes in the navigation on the left. Then select the node tree tab on the right.

There is only one element under the root after the initial setup: Root > Unassigned. All nodes that are registered in the Management System are placed in the Unassigned element by default. From there they can be moved to new elements that have to be created first.

Creating a new element in the node tree

Before moving a node out of the Unassigned element, create a new element in the node tree. Elements in the node tree exclusively serve an organizational purpose.

1. Select Nodes in the navigation on the left.
2. Select the node tree tab on the right.

3. Select the ellipsis menu to the right of Root in the node tree.

   

4. Select ADD in the overlay that popped up.

   

5. Enter the name of the new element in the field under Location.

   

6. Select Save.

The new element now appears under the Root element.

Create more elements and freely modify the node tree. To the right of every created element, there is an ellipsis menu that opens up an overlay. Add additional elements, edit the names of elements or delete the elements here.

Moving a node from one tree element to another

Moving nodes in the node tree is very straightforward and intuitive and possible by drag and drop. Make sure that a new tree element is created before attempting to move a node.

1. Select Nodes in the navigation on the left.
2. Select the node tree tab on the right.

3. Expand the tree element of the node that will be moved. The default element is Root > Unassigned.

   

4. Choose the node to move.

5. Drag and drop the node to the newly created element. Elements expand automatically once as they are hovered over.

   

The node has now been moved to the new element.

Managing nodes in the node tree

Once nodes are registered in the Management System, view their details next to the node tree. To view the details of a node, select the node tree element. Each node can have different tabs for different options depending on the user's permissions.

Overview tab

The overview tab is the main tab containing most of the features available. It is automatically active when a node is selected.

Logs tab

Select this tab for a way to access logging and monitoring dashboards in OpenSearch. Note that data is not collected out of the box with the exception of system logs. Users with the Admin role need to define which logs the node collects. Tick the checkbox next to a dashboard link and select Save on the right to start collecting data.

The dashboards are split into the following categories:

For more detailed information, refer to Logging and monitoring.

DNA tab

The DNA tab contains a way to operate Nerve DNA on a node through the Management System UI. Refer to Nerve DNA UI in the Management System for more information on the content of the DNA tab. Also, refer to Nerve DNA for more information on Nerve DNA in general.

Node capabilities

The capabilities of each node are available as a list in both the Local UI and the Management System. A capability represents a specific feature or a set of features allowing the node to run workloads, to provide logs etc. As of now, most nodes share the same list of capabilities. In the future, with increasing modularity in the Nerve solution, the list will differ based on the specific Nerve solution running on the node.

Reach the list of node capabilities in the following locations:

Here is a list of all currently available capabilities:

Node list

The topics covered in this chapter are mainly means of organization and have no impact on the functionality of the nodes and their workloads. Select Nodes in the navigation on the left. Then select the nodes tab on the right to display the list of registered nodes.

Adding a node

Nodes can only be added to the Management System if they have been configured in the Local UI, as the serial number and secure ID of the node are required. Refer to Node configuration before continuing.

1. Select Nodes in the menu on the left side.
2. Select the nodes tab on the right to display the list of registered nodes.

3. Select the plus symbol (Add new node) in the upper-right corner.

   

4. Enter the following information:

   Item	Description
   Name	Enter the name for the node that will make it easy to identify.
   Secure ID	Enter the secure ID that is generated when the node is configured in the Local UI. Refer to Node configuration for more information.
   Serial Number	Enter the serial number of the Nerve Device that was defined during node configuration.
   Insert Label	This field is optional. Add labels to the node for easier identification and workload deployment. Note that labels have to be created first before they can be assigned to nodes. Refer to Labels for more information.
   Nerve Device name	Select the Nerve Device, on which the node is hosted from the drop-down menu. The name is set to MFN 100 by default. A picture of the selected Nerve Device will be displayed in the node details. Refer to the device guide for more information on qualified Nerve Devices.
   REMOTE CONNECTIONS	This setting is optional at this point. Remote connections can be configured at any time. Select Add Remote Screen or Add Remote Tunnel to configure a remote connection to the node. Refer to Remote connections for more information and instructions for all remote connection types.

5. Select Save to save the changes.

   

The node now appears in the node list and in Root > Unassigned in the node tree and can be worked with. At first, the node is marked as offline. It can take up to a minute until the node is shown as online in the Management System. The Management System refreshes automatically.

Editing the details of nodes

After registering a node, edit its details in the Nodes menu. Use the search bar at the top to search for nodes if a large number of nodes is registered.

1. Select Nodes in the navigation on the left.
2. Select the nodes tab on the right to display the list of registered nodes.
3. Select a node from the list.

4. Edit the details of the node:

   Item	Description
   Name	Enter the name of the node.
   Secure ID	This is the ID generated during the node registration process. Do not edit this ID without a valid reason.
   Serial Number	This is the serial number of the node. Do not edit the serial number without a valid reason.
   Timezone	This is the time zone of the node. This setting cannot be edited here. The time zone setting is set in the Local UI. Refer to Node configuration for more information.
   Insert label	This field is optional. Add labels to the node for easier identification and workload deployment. Refer to Labels for more information.
   Version	This is the node version. This field cannot be edited.
   Device type	This is the device the node is hosted on. This field cannot be edited.
   REMOTE CONNECTIONS	This is a list of remote connections to the node stating the NAME, TYPE, and PORT of available remote connections. Add or delete remote connections here. Refer to Remote Connections for more information.

   Note

   Changing the Secure ID or Serial Number of a node will break the connection between the node and the Management System.

5. Select Update to save the changes.

   

Updating a node to a new version

Nodes are updated through the Management System where currently available updates are listed. Note that nodes can only be updated in order, meaning that node versions cannot be skipped. When an update is started, a snapshot of the user data is made and running workloads are stopped. Reverting to the previous version is possible. Workloads remain stopped after an update or revert.

1. Expand Nodes > Updates in the navigation on the left.

2. Select a node version from the list. Available nodes for the update to the selected version will appear on the right.

   

3. Tick the checkboxes next to the nodes that will be updated.

4. Select Update.

   

5. Select Yes in the pop-up window.

The Management System will display the log screen where the update is shown as in progress. The progress bar here shows the progress of the entire update campaign if more than one node has been selected before. Click the progress bar to see the progress of the update to each node.

Removing a node

Note that generally there is no need in removing a node. Only remove a node in case of technical difficulties or by request of customer support. To remove a node, select the corresponding Delete icon in the Action column on the right side of the node list.